Holiday Drive Will Benefit Young Adults With Cancer

A University of Maryland cancer support group will be collecting monetary donations on Thursday to fund a holiday gift drive for families of young adult cancer patients.

Students from the UMd. chapter of Young Adult Cancer Support (YACS) will be handing out coffee and candy canes to those donating with cash or credit cards, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. outside the .

The money will buy gifts to “alleviate the financial burden of young adult patients and survivors during their time of need,” said Laura Scruggs, a Volunteer Maryland Coordinator and organizer for the event.

Many of the clients are actively receiving treatments, leaving little time and energy to buy and share gifts for family members. Through this fundraiser and gift drive, the organization hopes to ease some of the financial and emotional burdens that the holidays can have on families battling cancer, Scruggs said.

“More families than ever before are requesting our help for the holiday season,” she said.

Junior Alex Wang, the university’s chapter president, got involved with YACS after participating in a 4K For Cancer summer cross-country cycling trip. It made her want to continue serving the cancer community and encourage other students to sign up for the 4,000-plus mile bicycle ride.

“I think this gift drive is a great idea because donations go toward providing families affected by cancer with gifts that they truly deserve,” Wang said in an email. “Rather than addressing the research aspect of cancer support, YACS focuses [on] helping those currently battling the disease.”

Thursday’s event on campus is also designed to introduce the university community to YACS and spread information about how students can get more involved in cancer support.

YACS has three other chapters, at University of Maryland Baltimore County, Towson University and Johns Hopkins University. It benefits the Ulman Cancer Fund, a Baltimore-based support group that raises awareness of young adult cancer issues.

This is the third year the Ulman Cancer Fund has held a holiday gift drive, according to its website. In 2010, the non-profit organization collected a total of 225 gifts and raised $2,000 in monetary donations.

Find more information on the Ulman Cancer Fund for Young Adult Gift Drive here, and donate to the Ulman Cancer Fund here.

Editor's Note: This story has been corrected. A previous version indicated the wrong gender for Ms. Wang, as the interview was conducted through email. We regret the error.